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famous sons
Jun. 5th, 2012 10:16 pmWe Wisconsinites are fiercely proud of the accomplishments that place us as world leaders in whatever fields those accomplishments allow us. We claim as sons and daughters, any who have spent time here. I came across the story of Dr. Nicholas Senn, who appears to have gotten his medical career started here in Milwaukee.
During Senn’s career in Milwaukee and afterwards, he was considered one of the most distinguished surgeons of the world. He continued his own education at the University of Munich, Germany, in 1878 and graduated in 1879. In 1887, his work on the repair of intestinal perforation, begun as an attempt to heal a gunshot wound, became known worldwide. An indefatigable worker, Senn wrote at least twenty-five medical textbooks and contributed to hundreds of papers. Among his writings are:
Experimental surgery
Intestinal Surgery
Surgical Bacteriology
Principles of Surgery
Pathology and Surgical treatment of Tumors
Abdominal Surgery on the Battlefield
The Surgery of the Pancreas
The Surgical Treatment of Intestinal Obstruction
(Usher p. 2025, Sinai Samaritan Medical Center Manuscript Collection index)
In addition, after investigating the failure of carbolic spray to prevent sepsis, Dr. Senn determined that bacteria was coming from the hands of the surgeons and infecting the patients. “Dr. Senn probably was one of the first surgeons to use gloves (cotton gloves, boiled) in operating.”
Senn’s services were in demand outside of Wisconsin while he maintained his Chief of Staff position at Milwaukee Hospital. From 1884 through 1887 he served as professor of surgery at Chicago’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, now the medical school of the University of Illinois. He was elected professor of practical and clinical surgery of Rush Medical College in 1890, a post he held until his death. He also served as the professor of surgery at the University of Chicago, was the attending physician at the Presbyterian Hospital and worked as surgeon in chief at St. Joseph’s Hospital. (Usher p. 2023)
Senn’s contribution to military surgery was also legendary throughout the world and he sought to make antiseptic and aseptic surgery simpler on the battlefield than they were in civil practice. He was appointed surgeon General of Wisconsin in 1888, and Surgeon General of the Illinois National Guard in 1892. In 1891 he established the Association of Military Surgeons of the National Guard of the United States. In 1898 he was appointed chief surgeon of the Sixth Army Corps and became chief of operating staff surgeons with the American army during the Spanish American War. He actually served in Santiago, Cuba.
“A variety of books addressing the history of medicine note Dr. Senn’s contribution to surgery. A Cyclopedia of American Medical Biography (1912), states that Senn is considered “the greatest surgeon, medical authority and writer the West had ever produced and his innovative work in abdominal surgery won him international acclaim.”
During Senn’s career in Milwaukee and afterwards, he was considered one of the most distinguished surgeons of the world. He continued his own education at the University of Munich, Germany, in 1878 and graduated in 1879. In 1887, his work on the repair of intestinal perforation, begun as an attempt to heal a gunshot wound, became known worldwide. An indefatigable worker, Senn wrote at least twenty-five medical textbooks and contributed to hundreds of papers. Among his writings are:
Experimental surgery
Intestinal Surgery
Surgical Bacteriology
Principles of Surgery
Pathology and Surgical treatment of Tumors
Abdominal Surgery on the Battlefield
The Surgery of the Pancreas
The Surgical Treatment of Intestinal Obstruction
(Usher p. 2025, Sinai Samaritan Medical Center Manuscript Collection index)
In addition, after investigating the failure of carbolic spray to prevent sepsis, Dr. Senn determined that bacteria was coming from the hands of the surgeons and infecting the patients. “Dr. Senn probably was one of the first surgeons to use gloves (cotton gloves, boiled) in operating.”
Senn’s services were in demand outside of Wisconsin while he maintained his Chief of Staff position at Milwaukee Hospital. From 1884 through 1887 he served as professor of surgery at Chicago’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, now the medical school of the University of Illinois. He was elected professor of practical and clinical surgery of Rush Medical College in 1890, a post he held until his death. He also served as the professor of surgery at the University of Chicago, was the attending physician at the Presbyterian Hospital and worked as surgeon in chief at St. Joseph’s Hospital. (Usher p. 2023)
Senn’s contribution to military surgery was also legendary throughout the world and he sought to make antiseptic and aseptic surgery simpler on the battlefield than they were in civil practice. He was appointed surgeon General of Wisconsin in 1888, and Surgeon General of the Illinois National Guard in 1892. In 1891 he established the Association of Military Surgeons of the National Guard of the United States. In 1898 he was appointed chief surgeon of the Sixth Army Corps and became chief of operating staff surgeons with the American army during the Spanish American War. He actually served in Santiago, Cuba.
“A variety of books addressing the history of medicine note Dr. Senn’s contribution to surgery. A Cyclopedia of American Medical Biography (1912), states that Senn is considered “the greatest surgeon, medical authority and writer the West had ever produced and his innovative work in abdominal surgery won him international acclaim.”
